Brazil · 16th century
Garcia d'Ávila Tower House ranks #5,587 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #22 of the 78 mapped in Brazil. Founded 1551, it is older than 36% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 887 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,967 times in the last 60 days, more than 69% of the atlas. See how Brazil compares in the castle statistics.
The Tower House of Garcia d'Avila (Portuguese: Casa da Torre de Garcia d'Ávila), also known as the Castelo de Garcia d'Ávila, Forte de Garcia d'Ávila, is a 17th-century building complex in Mata de São João, Bahia, Brazil. It was constructed in the present-day settlement of Praia do Forte, 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) from a small natural harbor on the Atlantic coast. Tomé de Sousa (1503–1579), the first governor-general of Brazil, appointed his son Garcia de Sousa d'Ávila (1528–1609) to build a fortress on the Bahia coast. The castle sits on a hill with a good view of the Atlantic Ocean; the castle, as well as the village of Tatuapara, served as an advanced point of vigilance for Salvador and settlements around the Bay of All Saints.
Alerts of the approach of enemy ships were sent from the castle to Salvador via encrypted messages of smoke and torches; they traveled from the castle through a chain of Jesuit villages and other small settlements until they reached Salvador.
Garcia built a complex that included a fortified watchtower, a castle, and a church. The site is now in ruins.
Text adapted from “Garcia d'Ávila Tower House” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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